Kagiso Rabada is arguably the best all-format bowler around. In the Indian T20 League, Rabada is well ahead in the Purple Cap race with 12 wickets in the season so far, excelling across phases of a T20 innings.
Delhi have thrived from the exceptional spells that Kagiso Rabada has offered them this year. The South African has been pretty straightforward with his bowling - hitting the deck hard or going full to hit the stumps.
Bowling in phases
The last time Kagiso Rabada went wicketless in an Indian T20 League game was way back in 2017. Since then, he has picked up at least one wicket every game and in 11 of his last 12 matches, Rabada has two wickets or more.
The South African has excelled in the death overs for certain, with nine of his twelve wickets this season coming in the death overs.
Rabada has been used primarily in the death overs. Off the 120 balls he has bowled this year in the Indian T20 League, 50% have come in the death overs alone. In the Powerplay, his mantra has been containment.
In the five overs he has bowled upfront with the new ball, Rabada has conceded just 20 runs without taking a wicket. With Anrich Nortje and Ravichandran Ashwin attacking early on, Rabada has stuck to keeping batsmen on their toes and denying them room to free the arms.
In the middle overs, Rabada has not only come back for breakthrough spells but also kept the scoring rate in check. In 30 balls this year in the middle overs, Rabada has taken three wickets - all important ones too. Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli have been his victims.
It shows how effectively he has been used too by Delhi this season.
The perfect death bowler
Remember when Rabada yorked Andre Russell in the Super Over last year in the Indian T20 League?
"[Russell] was on fire tonight and I thought my yorker was coming out decently in this game so that’s what got me to back it even more and I think it’s important to really be clear and sure about what you’re doing, whatever ball you bowl. And that was my plan and that’s all I tried to do," Rabada said after that game.
That has literally been Rabada's go-to method in the death. The yorkers and low full tosses have been tough to put away and Rabada has relied on this simple, yet effective way, to keep batsmen silent.
As if last yeat's Super Over heroics weren't enough, Rabada did it again this year for Delhi in the one-over shoot out.
The spectacular spells from the South African have helped Delhi Capitals stay ahead of the race. With Anrich Nortje for company this season, Rabada's threat has multiplied and it's reflected in the wickets column.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter.com / Delhi
